Title: Journey of Prosperity and Suffering/Exodus 1
The Exodus event is the central event of the Old Testament, and it is the story of the salvation and liberation of the nation of Israel.
1. The Journey of Blessings and Prosperity (1-7)
When Jacob's descendants left Canaan due to famine and migrated to Egypt, the number was only 70. But the children of Israel were "great and multiplied and multiplied, and became exceedingly powerful, and filled the whole world." At the time of the Exodus after 450 years, the number of children of 600,000 elders totaled over 2 million (Exodus 12:37). It has increased by more than two thousand times.
God blesses and prospers his people. He promised to do so (Gen. 22:17, 46:3), and he fulfilled it. God blessed and prospered the Puritans who emigrated from Europe to North America, blessed the refugees who moved from North Korea to South Korea, and prospered those who migrated to the United States and the world from Korea. It doesn't mean just to eat well and live well. It is meant to serve God as an instrument of blessing and prosperity, and to exalt Him to the whole world. When we receive and enjoy God's blessings, we should give thanks to God for blessings and prosperity, serve God with those blessings and prosperity, and reveal God to the world.
2. The journey of persecution and suffering (8-14)
3. God's protection through midwives (15-22)
God used the Egyptian midwives to protect His people. He also used Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho, to help Joshua's army. Even among the Gentiles, there are those who fear and fear God. They are used as tools to accomplish God's work and receive God's blessing. Their lies were not selfish and vicious lies. "It can be said that it is a cover-up (hidden) not to follow the schemes of the wicked, so it is not worthy of punishment from God" (Park Yun-seon). Peter took an attitude of disobedience to the laws of the world when the laws of the world were against the laws of God (Acts 4:19). The midwives were blessed, and the Israelites prospered more and more.